Inkjet printing technology is used to print documents in many homes and businesses. Inkjet printers typically operate by selectively dispensing tiny droplets of liquid ink onto a print medium in a pattern corresponding to the desired text and/or images.
Many inkjet printers have a printing cartridge with an incorporated printhead having orifices through which liquid ink is expelled onto the print medium. Various print cartridge configurations exist. One configuration is that of a disposable print cartridge, typically including a self-contained ink or fluid reservoir and a printhead. Once the fluid reservoir is depleted, the print cartridge is replaced with a fresh cartridge. In other configurations, permanent or semi-permanent cartridges may receive liquid ink from a replaceable supply.
In inkjet printing, it is often important to maintain a sufficiently primed supply of ink to the printhead. However, when a print cartridge is first installed, or after long periods of disuse, one or more pockets of air may be present within the ink channels of the printhead. Under such circumstances, it may be desirable to prime the printhead by establishing a flow through the ink channels and out the nozzles such that any air bubbles are flushed out of the printhead.
Throughout the drawings, identical reference numbers designate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements.